Family Programs
Family / Parenting Support
We believe that the best way to protect children is by strengthening and supporting families to be able to meet the needs of their children. We offer a wide range of community support and programs that help you as parents do just that and fulfill your role as the primary nurturer, protector and educator of your children.
- Family strengthening and support
- In-home family support
- Life skills programs such as cooking and sewing
- Parenting education and groups
- ParentChild+ program (promotes attachment and early childhood literacy)
- Children therapy programs to support victims of maltreatment
- Youth engagement
- Early childhood education
- Family services such as protection, expectant parent and family engagement
- Supported access and reunification
- Alternative care resources such as adoption, foster care and residential youth care
- Support group for newcomer Canadians and their families
Family Strengthening
Our family strengthening programs and services provide support, knowledge and a variety of techniques and skills that can enhance the most important job that you as a parent can have: raising your children as healthy, productive, successful and caring community citizens.
Our programs have something for everyone. We offer parenting courses and workshops, life skills programs, support groups, literacy programs, in-home family supports, teen and pre-school programs and much more. There are sessions for parents only and others where you as parents and your children can learn, play and have fun together.
We believe that the best way to protect children is through strengthening and supporting the family’s ability to meet your children’s needs. That’s why we invest in children, families and communities by offering early childhood development programs and healthy, positive, parenting education. All are designed to focus on parenting as a whole rather than on the problem behaviors of your children, and to help you as parents gain an understanding of these behaviors and give you the tools to effectively and positively respond to them.
Our family strengthening programs operate thanks to financial support from private, public, community and organizational donations as well as grants and sponsorships. CFS of Western Manitoba is most grateful for this support.
Family Services
Family Services involves Protection Family Services, Voluntary Family Services, and Perinatal Services.
Family Services is the core of CFS of Western Manitoba’s work with families. You come to us after having gone through the initial Intake process and ongoing service needs have been identified with your family. The goals of Family Services are to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your children and to support and strengthen your family’s ability to meet the needs of your children.
CFS of Western Manitoba’s belief in offering Family Services is to:
- Work respectfully with family members to identify and address needs.
- Act in the best interests of the children.
- Work from a strengths perspective.
Perinatal Services can help expectant and new parents plan for their child by providing information on all options available to them. The goal of the program is to help parents identify their needs, understand their role of becoming a parent and help them to plan and prepare for the best future for them and their baby.
For more information on our Protection Family Services, Voluntary Family Services, and Perinatal Services, please contact us.
In-Home Support
In-Home Support gives Westman families healthy and positive resources to help make you stronger before situations reach a crisis point. An In-Home Support worker acts as an important advocate for your family in your own community to help reduce your isolation and to make sure you have access to available and appropriate community resources and programs.
The worker offers service in the family’s home and within their community. The worker can help in many areas including (but not limited to):
- Modeling parenting skills to help promote communication between parents and children.
- Providing parents with education that helps them deal with the expected stages of emotional and social development of their child.
- Offering one-on-one support to address concerns specific to the family.
- Teaching basic home management skills such as budgeting, meal planning, age appropriate children’s chores, etc.
- Mentoring children in some cases.
- Supporting parents in establishing routines and structure within the family home.
To be eligible for In-Home Support, a family must have an open file and assigned social worker with Child and Family Services of Western Manitoba.
For more information about our program call 204-726-6030 (toll free 1-800-483-8980) or email info@cfswestern.mb.ca